Ioana Frînghiu (Romania) felt a bit abandoned by the university when she graduated, not knowing what to do, where, or how she could find a job for herself. After a short corporate experience, she applied for a collaborator position with Centrul Didacto, a collaboration that transformed into a career. Ioana had no idea that Centrul Didacto was a social enterprise or what a social enterprise was. The first thing she discovered and liked about the social business was that she could come up with ideas, and people would listen to her and help her make these ideas happen – bringing value to her, the team, the company, and the clients. Also, Ioana likes that she never gets bored and constantly learns new things. She admires the business’s social part, being enthusiastic about the new social-oriented educational programs, such as language courses for institutionalized children.
Finally, she loves the flexibility she got and still gets from the business’s leaders to do her volunteer activities with the student association she is involved. Ultimately, the leaders appreciate her community work as they volunteered in such associations and are still connected to this sector.
Ioana is still working in community relations for Centrul Didacto, being in contact with the parents, the key clients of the business. When she manages to create a new study group, that’s when she feels the satisfaction – the kids start learning, the parents are paying, and the social business develops, reaching more kids and contributing to changing the education system in Romania.